The body of a woman (X) at the foot of the cliffs, a body maimed by whatever it snagged against as it fell, a body a local newspaper will describe as partially clothed, and a London businessman (Y) shot at his holiday home—reluctantly, D.I. Aubertin phones the bank manager to cancel their round of golf. The two incidents are connected—in this genre they can’t not be.

X and Y: is X the same woman that the woman wearing the scarlet lipstick and oversized sunglasses has mentioned? Would there be any merit in questioning B, or does this overcomplicate the case? Aubertin has a stomach-ache, and rushes to the bathroom.

…while he is reaching for the loo roll he notices that two books have fallen behind the radiator. One of them is an anthology of Daily Telegraph obituaries. The other is a thriller; set in a picturesque coastal town, its plot involves not two murders but three, and Aubertin thinks he might as well just sit tight and wait for Z.

Short story within the novel An Overcoat, CB Editions, 2017